Researchers Take A Deep Dive Into Solar Cell Efficiency

By abbasanwarinfo Last updated Oct 2, 2022

Researchers in Shanghai are looking into the different things that could affect how well solar cells work.
The results have been written up in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy of the American Institute of Physics.
Large things, like clouds and buildings, can get in the way of sunlight getting to solar cells. But even small things, like dust and leaves, can do the same thing.

Researchers from Shanghai Polytechnic University, Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Advanced Thermal Functional Materials, and Shanghai Solar Energy Research Center Co. Ltd. looked at how different levels of shade affect the performance of single solar cells and two-cell systems connected in series and parallel.

Researchers Take A Deep Dive

The results have been written up in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy of the American Institute of Physics.

Large things, like clouds and buildings, can get in the way of sunlight getting to solar cells. But even small things, like dust and leaves, can do the same thing. For photovoltaic technology, which turns light into electricity, it is important to know how the loss of incoming radiation affects power output.

Researchers looked at how different amounts of shade affect the performance of single solar cells, two-cell systems connected in series and parallel, and systems with four solar cells. They found that the ratio of shade to sunlight was almost the same as the drop in current from a single cell or two cells connected in parallel. But when two cells were hooked up in series, there was too much power loss.

Author Huaqing Xie of Shanghai Polytechnic University and Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Advanced Thermal Functional Materials said, “In the real world, obstacles can sometimes block light from getting to photovoltaic cells, which makes a big difference in how much light gets in. The effects of degradation make it hard to optimize power and cause a lot of power to be wasted.

When photovoltaic cells are connected in a row, electrons flow from one cell to the next along a single path. On the other hand, cells that are next to each other have two electron travel paths for electrons to travel through. In the real world, networks of solar cells are connected in series and parallel to increase the amount of power and current they can produce.

The team found that the ratio of shade to sunlight was almost the same as the drop in current from a single cell or two cells connected in parallel. But when two cells were connected in series, there was too much power loss and the temperature went up. This can cause the output to drop even more. For example, the current dropped by 57.6% when 29.6% of the series photovoltaic module was in the shade.

Xie said, “Our study shows that many things can affect performance. These include shadow areas, shadows on different cells of the module, and how cells and modules are connected.

In the past, researchers have looked at how shade affects big photovoltaic modules, but they have mostly ignored single cells and simple systems.

“Shadows on a single cell can have a big effect on the output and reliability of these complicated systems,” said Xie. Therefore, it is important for the development of solar panels to study single cells or a simple arrangement of two connected cells.

In the future, the authors want to look at how and why microscopic interactions happen in photovoltaic cells when different shadows are cast on them.

One would have thought that this kind of research would have been done a long time ago. But serious solar fans have learned that area and price are not the only things that affect the quality of solar cells. Installations need to be looked after regularly. The plans are important. We now know that how they are wired inside has a big effect on how well they work.

Customers will be able to make better, more well-informed decisions about solar products if they know this. One day, there might even be labeling rules that tell you exactly what’s inside a panel and give it a real rating. Someday. Maybe.

Let’s hope that the people in Shanghai don’t stop. If they gather enough information, maybe designs will get better and someone will come up with a sensor that says, “Wash me!”

Brian Westenhaus writes for New Energy And Fuel.

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